The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology has rejected a briefing regarding various pending inquiries at Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). The committee has recommended that PSQCA find a way to absorb its 34 employees, whose jobs were terminated after the expiry of their contracts in December 2018. In this regard, the Senate committee sought progress report on the issue at its next meeting.
According to the minutes of the committee huddle held at PSQCA head office on February 20 last, the committee chairman Senator Mushtaq Ahmad noted that many critical inquires had been left out of the briefing, apparently intentionally. He regretted that meaningful information such as contents or recommendations of those inquiry reports had not been provided at the briefing.
He specifically directed for unambiguous report with documents on different cases, including inquiries related to recruitment of contingency employees, DD (Finance & Accounts) on multiple financial irregularities, against Secretary PSQCA, regarding corruption in procurement against ex DG PSQCA on irregular appointments in year 2016-17 and an inquiry related to imports/export section.
Additionally, he directed that no information whatsoever about any inquiry be hidden from the committee and a comprehensive briefing on this matter be given next time covering four areas: complete list of inquiries covering every detail, clear indication of the findings of the report and people held responsible, action taken on findings/ against the people found responsible and penalties imposed or recoveries made after the inquiry.
Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) was directed to personally look into all administrative issues of PSQCA, including promotions and solve them by March 15, 2019. The Committee also directed PSQCA to hold Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for senior posts prior to the DPC for junior posts so that consequential vacancies are also filled at the junior levels, and complete the promotions process by March 15.
The PSQCA was recommended to procure four more mobile laboratories, one for each provincial capital. The authority's field officers should be doubled from current 13 to 26, preferably within the current year and additional filed staff shall be deputed. Savings available from generated revenues shall be utilised to meet the expenditure on new mobile labs and regional offices/field staff.
The Committee also expressed dissatisfaction over PSQCA's legal wing performance. The committee chairman pointed out that cement industry's court cases dating back to 2007 are still under litigation, involving dues of Rs 2.5 billion. However, the MoST Secretary informed that she outright rejected the offers of out of court settlement from cement industry.
The committee appreciated the approach and underscored that disposal of court cases is possible if pursued with will, commitment and persistence.
The Committee directed PSQCA to submit comprehensive report on its efforts and progress made in all pending court cases, containing dates of last three hearings of each case and antedate hearing applications submitted by the legal wing. For better assistance from and interest of government's law officers in PSQCA cases, the Committee decided to invite Attorney General Pakistan at the next meeting on the said agenda.
It also directed PSQCA for submitting annual report for FY 2017-18 to MoST by March 15. The PSQCA's legal wing was asked to submit comprehensive report on its efforts and progress made in all pending court cases, containing dates of last three hearings of each case and antedate hearing applications submitted by the legal wing. On the promotion cases of Nazim Hussain, Director (Import/Export) and Rehmatullah Memon, Media Adviser, the Committee decided to constitute a sub-committee.
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